LAHORE: The PhD professors serving in public colleges across Punjab have voiced concerns over the prolonged suspension of direct recruitment against reserved quota posts, saying the delay has stalled their career progression for more than a decade despite higher academic qualifications and years of service.

Under the Punjab Education Department’s Collegiate Branch service rules, appointments to senior teaching posts are divided between promotion and direct recruitment through the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC). The rules reserve 70pc of associate professor (BP0S-19) posts for promotion and 30pc for direct recruitment, while 80pc of professor (BPS-20) posts are allocated for promotion and 20pc for direct induction.

However, senior faculty members said the direct quota posts had not been advertised for the last 10 years, depriving PhD teachers of the career advancement envisaged under the rules.

Teachers said many faculty members had obtained PhDs and completed post-doctoral research with the expectation of progressing to higher grades through direct induction, but remained stuck in the same positions for years.

According to professors, the continued delay has left a large number of senior teachers fearing retirement before reaching BPS-20 despite decades of teaching and research experience. They warned that the stagnation was also discouraging younger lecturers and assistant professors from pursuing higher studies, including doctoral research, which could adversely affect academic standards and research culture in public colleges.

Education circles have urged the Punjab government to devise a compensation mechanism for affected teachers, including one-step promotions for the professors who have completed 10 years of post-PhD service without promotion opportunities.

The issue has surfaced amid broader discussions on reforms and appointments in Punjab’s higher education sector.

Punjab Minister for School and Higher Education Rana Sikandar Hayat stated that merit and transparency would remain central to recruitment and appointments in the education department. He said the process was being conducted strictly on merit with a focus on improving governance in the education sector. He also reiterated the government’s commitment to educational reforms, teacher development and strengthening higher education institutions across the province.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2026